Soldier, sniper, son returns from Iraq

Army sniper Spc. Michael Clark survived 15 months of combat in Iraq because he knew when to hide, when to shoot and when to move.

Peter Costa

Army sniper Spc. Michael Clark survived 15 months of combat in Iraq because he knew when to hide, when to shoot and when to move.

He has been trained to be patient. Covered in camouflage paint and wearing a full-body “ghilly” suit to blend into the background, he can take up to two hours to crawl two feet. His movement is as gentle and natural as a wave of wheat rippling across a field.

“In our training, we had to be able to come within 100 meters of a target and take a shot without being detected by a spotter. We did a lot of target detection. Being a sniper, you have to pick things out that are not in place, slight changes. You have to have a really good memory,” he said.

Clark is proficient in a variety of weapons but his principal rifles are the M24 sniper rifle and the massive Barrett M107 .50-caliber sniper rifle. The 29-pound Barrett is used to take out vehicles like cars and trucks as well as targets hiding behind barricades or sandbags.

Clark is part of the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment based out of Vilseck, Germany. His unit, during the “surge,” made daily patrols in Baghdad, in al Dora and in Diyala, a province northeast of Baghdad.

He found Baghdad less secure than the northern area.

“The outskirts of Baghdad were the last stronghold where there were Sunni fighting Shia and a lot of internal fighting. We did a lot of patrolling to help stabilize things and get the economy back in shape,” he said. “Once they saw that we helped get their markets opened, then we were treated better,” Clark said. “The sheiks and mokhtar tribal leaders welcomed us when they saw how we cleaned up their neighborhoods.”

Patrols were arduous. He carried gear weighing 40 to 50 pounds each day on patrol in temperatures that often exceeded 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Before we deployed we stayed for two weeks in Kuwait to get ourselves acclimated to the weather because Kuwait is a little hotter than Iraq. We first got to Iraq during the summer and the temperature would range from about 120 to 130 degrees,” he said.

“We lived in a trailer, not as nice as a mobile home with two bunk beds and a locker. In the north, he lived in old abandoned Iraqi houses where the U.S. troops built their own rooms.

Some patrols could last days and he has gone as long as three weeks without taking a shower.

“Even when you are not away from your station, the way we work so hard, we would rather sleep than shower anyway. Most days when not on patrol we could grab a shower,” he said.

Participating in a firefight stimulates the senses. Being shot at electrifies the mind and body.

“Your first reaction when you are shot at is to hit the floor, to get down. After a while, when it happens on a daily basis, you just keep standing and keep moving,” he said. “You have to buck up and keep moving.”

Clark, 22, is a lifelong resident of Westford where he lives with his father, Tom, his mother, Beth, and his younger sister, Julia, 20. He is a 2004 graduate of Westford Academy where he lettered in varsity men’s ice hockey and varsity men’s lacrosse. After graduating from Westford Academy, he attended the University of Connecticut and also was a member of Army ROTC.

“I wanted to do more, so I enlisted,” Clark said.

“I’ve made a lot of really close friends. They are like brothers to me. I love handling guns and working outdoors,” he said. “The only thing I don’t like about the Army is that the average soldier’s opinions aren’t considered. Sometimes, we are asked to act like robots,” he said.

“But I have always wanted to be a soldier, even when I was a little kid. So this is in many ways my dream job.”

Clark’s service will end in June 2010. He returns to his unit in Germany until February when he will be transferred to the 2nd Cavalry in Fort Lewis, Wash.

Next week, he and his buddies will be traveling to Las Vegas for a party.

With a team of snipers in Las Vegas, what happens in Vegas will not only stay in Vegas, it won’t even be detected.

Westford Eagle

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